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A Few Thoughts on Medieval Poetry

This
volume of Medieval English poetry contains works about Jesus, Mary,
suffering, death, pearls, various creatures, patience, Bannokburn,
Sir Orfeo and some Harley lyrics. The wording and rhymes in these
poems are straightforward and readily comprehensible. There are some
interesting stories and thoughtful verses.

Image source: Goodreads.

Excluding
some inappropriate content (most of which is near the end of the
volume) it is a worthy read.

And,
there ends my short review. But since it is indeed short, I'll add a
few more thoughts on this book of poetry, which I wrote earlier this
month, when I was excited to discover some poetry I enjoyed reading. And why
didn't I appreciate poetry until then? Read on.

I
haven't always liked poetry. Reading it has been a struggle for me.

When I
thought of poetry, I would get a feeling of mental claustrophobia.
I'd think of vague, confusing verse bristling with oblique references
to something that really meant something else, but you wouldn't be
able to know that unless you were acquainted with the poet, and since
you weren't, you just had to muddle through it and nod intellectually
and look thoughtful when you finished.

I can't
stand that kind of poetry.

But I
also knew poetry was a rich and wonderful genre. I was
missing a source of inspiration and ideas, and I couldn't ignore it
any longer. So I decided to read one volume of classic poetry every
month this year.

And
when I was reading Medieval English Verse yesterday evening, I
had an aha moment.
Something about this uncomplicated four line verse spoke to me.

Let
us gather hand and hand

And
sing of bliss without an end

The
Devil has fled from earthly land

And
Son of God is made our friend.

I love
that verse. It's plain and straightforward. But it is profound. It
summarizes the age of joy and victory in which we live. And the Son of God
is made our friend. We are no
longer in rebellion or isolation – we have friendship with the
creator of the universe. Those four pithy lines describe a whole lot
of amazing things without pretension and ambiguity.

I
suppose I like this verse so much because I can understand, really
understand it. I know
exactly what it is talking about. I don't have to slog through an
inane and impossible-to-interpret poem. And at the risk of sounding
like the characters Thomson and Thompson from the Tintin
comic books by Herge, I'll close with this: this verse is wonderfully
simple, but says something simply wonderful.

What
about you, have you ever gone from disliking poetry to finding a piece
you appreciated?

Comments

I have long held to a theory that a person can become proficient in any and all academic ventures if they put in the time and effort. Math, Science, History, Philosophy, Second Languages, Creative Writing... given time and work we can come to appreciate and understand them. However, poetry has always been the gaping hole in my theory. Try as I might, understanding poetry has always been a trial for me. My mind just seems too linear in nature. But you have given me hope, I might yet enjoy poetry. I am going to add this book to my must read list and give it a try.